Almost every time you apply for a credit card, the card issuer will carefully review your credit report to check your creditworthiness. The only exception is credit cards with preferential charges, which are very few.
In either case, the card issuer may request your credit report from any or all of the three major credit bureaus. This means that your credit report can be obtained from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, or any combination of these bureaus.
However, unless you set up alerts that notify you immediately of changes to your credit report, you won’t know—at least not right away—which report the card issuer used to decide on your application. This begs the question: which credit bureaus do each of the major card issuers actually use to check your creditworthiness?
Read on to find out how and when you can find out which credit bureau your card issuer has used and why it matters.
How can I find out which card bureau an issuer uses?
All major card issuers claim to use all three credit bureaus when checking an applicant’s credit report. However, they may use individual bureaus more than others, and they usually only receive one credit report when you apply for a card. Credit card issuers also treat such data as confidential information, so they will not disclose any specific information.
Also note that you will find out which bureau the card issuer used after you apply, but only if you are denied. If the card issuer approves your application, the company is not required by law to tell you which credit bureau it used. However, if the issuer rejects your application, you will know the name of the bureau used to make the decision when you receive the issuer’s “adverse action notice”. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), this notice must also state the reason why your credit card application was denied.
This means that if your credit card issuer retrieves your Experian credit report and rejects your application due to your payment history, you will receive a notification with a detailed explanation.
What is the secret of which bureaus are used by card issuers?
While it would be nice if credit card issuers disclosed in advance which credit bureaus they use the most, credit officer John Ulzheimer says he understands why some card issuers may be reluctant to disclose which credit bureaus they rely on.
“I see that some card issuers are hesitant to disclose which bureau they use to underwrite cards because consumers are often taught to go to the lender who pulls the credit report where their score is highest. To some extent, this is a rudimentary way to beat the system,” he says.
“This is not national security. But they are certainly not required to disclose this information to a potential applicant,” adds Ulzheimer.
A card issuer typically selects one report from one bureau when deciding on a credit card application, he said. Why? Pulling reports from all three credit bureaus for each application would be too expensive.
Ulzheimer says the card issuer chooses the bureau based in part on the type of agreement it has with the bureau. These contracts almost always include a commitment to buy a certain number of records from her, he said.
Also note that the information that the card issuer requests and receives may differ. When a card issuer buys a credit report, they may get all of the applicant’s available data, or only certain data, such as the applicant’s credit score, Ulzheimer said. The card issuer instantly receives this data electronically.
Why is this important to consumers?
If it were up to the credit card applicant, they would obviously want the card issuer to provide a report containing the most favorable information.
However, the applicant does not have the right to vote in this matter. So a card issuer can get a person’s credit report from Experian that shows a credit score of 680, while Equifax and TransUnion show scores above 700. the bureau is actually very common.
So an Experian report indicating a credit score of 680 could result in less desirable terms, such as a higher APR for a credit card.
Ted Rossman, industry analyst at CreditCards.com, says the credit bureau you use can also make a difference if you set a credit freeze on one bureau but not on the other two.
In addition, he says, one or more credit bureaus may provide a variety of information that may or may not help you get a loan. For example, there may be an error in one or more credit reports. And sometimes credit bureaus report legitimate information in different ways. It is possible that some invoices and requests may also vary from bureau to bureau.
bottom line
Because you never know which credit bureau will be used when applying for a credit card, it’s best to always stay up to date with your credit history and your reports. This means regularly checking your credit reports for errors and problems, and challenging any incorrect negative information you find.
Fortunately, anyone can check their credit reports with all three credit bureaus for free at the AnnualCreditReport.com website. This can help you see what accounts you have open, the balances you currently owe, your payment history, and more.
Taking this step can help you improve your chances of being approved any time you apply for a new credit card, and it can also help you spot signs of identity theft early on.
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The editorial content on this page is based solely on the objective judgment of our contributors and is not based on advertising. It was not provided or ordered by credit card issuers. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to our partners’ products.
